CiNCHONALES.] 



VACCINIACEiE. 



57 



Order CCXCI. VACCINIACE^.— Cranberries. 



Vacciniea?, DC. TMor. Ek'm. 216. (1813) ; Endl. Gen. p. 757 j DC. Prodr. 7. 55;j. 

 Diagnosis. — Cinclional Exogcms^ with epigynous stamens and anthers opening by j^ores. 



Much branched slu-ubsor small trees, frequently evergreen, and occasionally epiphytes. 

 Leaves alternate, uiidi\dded, without stipules, often with glandular notches. Flowers 

 sohtary or m racemes. Calyx superior, 

 entire, or with from 4 to 6 lobes. Corolla 

 imbricated in aestivation, mouopetalous, 

 lobed as often as the calyx. Stamens dis- 

 tinct, double the number of the lobes of the 

 corolla, inserted into an epigynous disk ; 

 anthers with 2 horns and 2 cells, bm'sting by 

 pores. Ovary inferior, 4- to 10-celled ; style 

 simple ; stigma simple. Berry crowned by 

 the persistent limb of the calyx, succulent, 

 4- to 10-ceUed ; cells 1- or many-seeded. 

 Seeds minute, pendulous when solitary ; 

 embryo straight, in the axis of fleshy albu- 

 men ; cotyledons very short ; radicle long, 

 inferior. 



It is usual to station these plants with 

 Heathworts, to which they bear much resem- 

 blance, and of wliich they are no doubt the 

 representative in the Epigynous Sub-class. 

 They are, however, to all appearance 

 closely allied to Cinchonads in theh* mouo- 

 petalous flowers, inferior ovary, and albu- 

 minous seeds, and also to Escalloniads, which 

 are chiefly known by being polypetalous. 

 The want of adliesion between their stamens 

 and corolla is analogous to what occm's 

 among Columelhads. Myrtleblooms, with 

 their dotted leaves and indefinite stamens, 

 are very different ; but they too sometimes 



correspond in their anthers bursting by pores. Upon the whole, Cranben'ies may be 

 considered as an Order standing on the borders of the Epigynous and Hypogynous 

 Sub-classes, and of the Cinchonal and Grossal Alliances. 



The species abound in the temperate parts of the world, especially in swampy or sub- 

 alpine countries. Some are from the moors and marshes of Europe, others from the 

 mountains of centi'al Asia, many from North America, and not a few from the highlands 

 of Peru. Some of the Peruvian species are said to be parasites. 



' They are chiefly kno\vn as garden shrubs. Their bark and leaves are astringent, 

 slightly tonic and stimulating ; their berries sub-acid and pleasant to the taste. Bil- 

 bennes are the fruit of Vacciuium ]\I}Ttillus, Whortleberries of V. uliginosum, Cranber- 

 ries of V. Vitis idcea and the Oxycoccus palustris and macroearpa. ^Nlany American 

 species are .substitutes for them. The people of Pasta make wine from the fiiiit of 

 Tliibaudia macrophylla ; that of our Vaccinium uliginosum is said to be narcotic, and 

 to be sometimes put into beer and other liquors to make them heady ; when fermented 

 it yields an intoxicating liquor. From the flowers of Thibaudia Quei'cme an aromatic 

 tinctm'e is prepared in Peru as a remedy for toothache. 



Fig. DIV.— Vaccinium amcenum. 1. a flower ; 2. a pei-pendicular section of it without the corolla ; 

 3. a cross section of an ovary ; 4. an anther ; 5. half a seed. 



